Student Bloggers
Kangaroos, Koalas, and Emu, Oh My!
Date
June 9, 2017
By Cristina Vaca, STEM Summer Research - Brisbane, Australia
Yesterday we went on an excursion to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary to pet Koalas! We took a boat tour down the river to the sanctuary from which we could see all of the city and surrounding suburbs. Along the river were some incredible houses, all of which had direct water access from small docks attached to the houses by long walkways. I can see why real estate here is so expensive! Apparently property is more expensive than NYC, and almost as expensive as London in Sydney and Melbourne.
At the sanctuary, in addition to kangaroos and koalas we saw many other animals native to Australia such as a Tasmanian Devil, crocodiles, kookaburra, and many snakes. We bought kangaroo food for $2 and walked into the enclosure where kangaroos and emu roamed freely. One of the differences I've noticed from the zoos in the US is the number of animals. There we almost one hundred kangaroos in the enclosure, whereas in the US there may be one or two of each type of animal on display at a zoo or wildlife sanctuary. After lunch I held a koala! Definitely top ten moments of my life.
P.s. Last night we rode the Wheel of Brisbane, a ferris wheel with views of the whole city! During the day we went on hike up Mt. Cootha, and got a view of the whole city.
Cristina is a student at the University of Pennsylvania and is blogging from her summer abroad on the STEM Summer Research - Brisbane program, in Brisbane, Australia